I used to know of a dealer who posted reference photos for their card grading guidelines, which was very helpful visually. Unfortunately I cannot recall the dealer and could not find anything in my brief web search.

Easiest defects to spot are miscut, creased, warped, wax and gum stained cards, but if you have say a 1969 Mantle with any of these flaws, it's still worth some money.

If you have one, a halogen light is a great way to find less obvious defects like hairline creases or other imperfections. 55 watts is supposed to provide the right balance of lighting for this purpose.

Once I've done this, I look at the corners. Personally, since I grade a lot of cards, I use a 10x loupe, but good vision or a pair of good glasses if you need them will work if you're not submitting for grading. Other graded cards, OF THE SAME YEAR (very important) provide good reference. A good hi res picture of cards posted on ebay could be helpful, especially if it has ebay zoom capability so you can see the corner condition more closely.

Centering is important, the closer to being evenly centered top to bottom and side to side, the better the grade.

I agree, it's pretty complicated compared to the old days of 10 cent packs, but I hope that helps some.

"Baseball cards have no intrinsic value. They are functionally worthless as are cancelled stamps, knick knacks, empty beer cans, the Mona Lisa and pearl earrings. The value of a baseball card, as the value of these other collectables, can only be assessed by you and your enjoyment in viewing and possessing these cardboard swatches."

At least, they can be recycled like tin cans. If not recycled, they are at least biodegradable. At times, I feel guilty because we collect cardboard and paper comes from trees and we are responsible to some of the deforestation of our environment. I know reforestation and I know we can recycle paper products and still make some high quality paper from them. But sometimes, I feel some guilt.

"Baseball cards have no intrinsic value. They are functionally worthless as are cancelled stamps, knick knacks, empty beer cans, the Mona Lisa and pearl earrings. The value of a baseball card, as the value of these other collectables, can only be assessed by you and your enjoyment in viewing and possessing these cardboard swatches."

.... hummmmm!

If I think about it too much (and I have many times in the past) the fact that they are pieces of cardboard has made me stop and think, considering how much money I've put into them over my lifetime. But if you follow financial markets, gold prices fluctuate around $1700 an ounce as a commonly traded investment. There are some professional investors though that feel gold too has no intrinsic value. So the obvious connection is Baseball Cards=Gold, at least that what I keep telling myself.

(03-15-2012 09:42 PM)filamuraireborn Wrote: "There are some professional investors though that feel gold too has no intrinsic value. So the obvious connection is Baseball Cards = Gold, at least that is what I keep telling myself."

Nice thought. What do you invest with? Do you just collect cards and never sell any? If you sell, why do you sell cards? What do you do with the money?

I used to have a fairly good budget for cards but now I have a family, so I have to keep my priorities in line. I've sold a number of cards over the past couple of years to fund my budget, usually doubles and other cards that aren't essential to the sets or players I collect. If I could, I would collect and keep everything though

(03-15-2012 06:35 AM)JeffreyQ Wrote: "Baseball cards have no intrinsic value. They are functionally worthless as are cancelled stamps, knick knacks, empty beer cans, the Mona Lisa and pearl earrings. The value of a baseball card, as the value of these other collectables, can only be assessed by you and your enjoyment in viewing and possessing these cardboard swatches."

Great quote! Every collector needs to read something like this once in a while to keep perspective.

JonathanI

I collect Chicago athletes in their respective Halls of Fame, in addition to several authors, track athletes, and personal favorites from past and present Chicago rosters. The other 36,000 cards in my collection are for you.